As to the model predictive control for five-phase permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), it is difficult to ensure the optimal control performance by using calculation method to obtain the weighting factor. To solve this problem, a cascade model predictive current control based on the idea of sequential model predictive control is proposed for five-phase PMSM for the first time. Firstly, the principle of selecting the optimal voltage vector by the proposed method is analyzed in detail. Then, combined with the characteristics of five-phase PMSM, the control priority of controlled variables is set for designing two cost function schemes without weight factor. The maximum torque scheme can generate a trapezoidal stator voltage, improving the DC bus voltage utilization rate and the system loading capacity. The minimum harmonic current scheme can reduce the harmonic of stator current, obtaining small system noise and vibration. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method can ensure the optimality of the voltage vector applied. Therefore, the five-phase PMSM obtains good performance under different working operation, such as small torque ripple, fast dynamic response, and small harmonic current.